Reconsidering Anthrax’s Place As The Black Sheep In The ‘Big Four’ Of Thrash Metal

One of the most important aspects of heavy-metal lore is the Big Four; the four American thrash-metal bands who have more or less come to define their genre. Those bands would be Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Now, right away you can think of what each of those bands’ calling cards would be. Metallica were both the most commercially successfully band out of the group, as well as the band who pioneered the whole thing when they released Kill ‘Em All. Slayer, on the other hand, are probably known as the most intense, dark band of the group, dabbling in the more macabre with tracks like “Angel of Death,” and “Raining Blood” still sending chills down listeners’ spines today. Then, Megadeth would likely be best known for Dave Mustaine’s legendary snarl, his controversial politics, and of course, the band’s immortal two-guitar attack. Finally, that leaves us with Anthrax, an undeniably important metal band that nonetheless lacks an immediate calling card. This might beg the question: Have Anthrax become the most underrated band of the Big Four?

Anthrax first began truly making their mark on the metal world with their second album, 1985’s Spreading The Disease, which gave us the all-time classic “Madhouse,” perhaps best known for Joey Belladonna’s epic wail of “I’M INSAAAAAAAAAAAANE!” But while that album certainly got people talking about Anthrax, what cemented their reputation as one of the greatest metal acts ever was 1987’s Among The Living. On this album, the band expanded their sound, making some of the more complex music of their career, while also taking on some subversive themes in their lyrics. Most notable of Among’s standouts were “I Am The Law,” an ode to Judge Dredd and subtle acknowledgment of Draconian police forces and “Indians,” a tribute to the plight of Native Americans — lead vocalist Joey Belladonna has Iriqouis heritage in his family. Between that, 1988’s State Of Euphoria and 1990’s Persistence Of Time, Anthrax’s importance the contemporary metal scene was undeniable.

Then, in 1991, the band would release perhaps their best-known song, their cover of Public Enemy’s “Bring The Noise.” In addition to being the closest thing the band ever had to a true hit, this song was particularly influential for basically pioneering the rap-metal genre, following in the footsteps of early one-off tracks like Beastie Boys’ “No Sleep Til Brooklyn” and even their own B-side “I’m The Man.” Now, this admittedly might seem like a bit of a mixed blessing, but for every one of Limp Bizkit’s more embarrassing moments, there is also a Rage Against The Machine right around the corner. The track essentially set the stage for an entire sub-genre of music, and that is certainly nothing to scoff at. At this point, Anthrax’s legacy was firmly secured.

This is a waste of an article. Or at least a completely misguided and wholly uninformed article. The reason for this is that the Big Four of Thrash were dubbed so because of album sales, which is why a band like Exodus or Overkill is not part of it instead of Anthrax. It has nothing to do with “this is the political band” and “this is the dark, evil band.”
Anthrax is often looked at as the black sheep because they’re the only East Coast band, and therefore have a sound that draws much more from hardcore punk than the other three Bay Area bands. Also, Anthrax has sold a few less albums than the other three (at least in the 80s when the term was first coined).

All that said, “For All Kings” is one of their better efforts, and they probably are the best of the Big Four in terms of current material. But they will always, always be considered #4 due to their 80s album sales.

A few reasons:
1) He founded the band
2) When a band goes through multiple singers it sometimes means that someone else has to take on the frontman role
3) He’s a funny and cool guy who puts himself out there the most of any of the band members

Also, for thrash bands rhythm guitar is not really that low on the totem pole. I would go so far as to say that a good rhythm guitar player is the most important part of a thrash band. And Scott Ian is really good.

Another reason is that a lot of people associate them with their joke songs, and people who think metal has to be 100% serious all the time don’t like that stuff. Personally I like that they aren’t afraid to be silly and joke around, while still having plenty of serious songs. I think that sets them apart, for some people in a bad way but for me in a good way. I also think the John Bush stuff is better than it gets credit for, there’s a lot of hidden gems on Volume 8 (which unfortunately most people seemed to have missed because the record label folded the week the album came out so it got zero promotion).

Anthrax is a great band. I’ve seen them live a few times. They always sound good. Still do. Unlike Metallica.
The part of the article that bothered me was the Megadeth stuff. Mudstain’s voice isn’t a snarl. It’s a nasally whine. Dave’s ego was too big to get a good singer, because Hetfield didn’t get another singer in Metallica. So Dave would be the singer.
Mudstain’s politics are just dickish. He was a total party animal alcoholic. That’s what got him kicked out of metallica. Now he’s a holy roller hypocrite telling other people how they should live. Just shut up and keep it to yourself.
And the two guitar attack in metal is as common as long hair. Judas Priest gets more credit than Megadeth for that.
They do sound good live though. A tight band. And Dave is a ridiculously good guitarist.